Injustice For All
by Kittie1
Summary: After the untimely demise of the X-Men, five young girls take to the Metropolis sewers, how can they survive if forced to surface when they are flushed out by SuperMan? Chaos, Upheaval, Shocking Secrets and insanity... Chapter 3 is up!
1. First Impressions

**Book One Injustice for All**

**A/N: The well awaited story I've been promising! I started this wayyy back when I was in my freshman year of highschool. Then came college. Woot. This is only the first chapter of many, tell me what ya'll think!**

Explosions slammed into the building, screams of its inhabitants echoing off the trees of the area. A small girl in a singed red kimono scrambled out, and immedaitly collapsed to her side, coughing in pain. Followed quickly after, a tall blond woman followed, hauling her up to her feet.

"Come on Kei! We've got to get out of here!" She bellowed over the noise.

The girl spluttered, coughing wildly, a bit of silver substance and blood dribbling from her mouth. "But the Professor! Scott and Jean...!"

"No time!" Her voice was harsh, rough and gritty against the back noise of the wind and screams inside. There was a sudden calming feeling came over her, and she felt a small prodding in the back of her skull. A small voice in her head whispered weakly to her.

_Get away...get away from here...take Acid Ice and run!_

There was a breif flash of a subspace opening, and two long, silver boards, roughly the length of two skateboards end to end, and a bit wider flashed infront of them. They mounted, and the boards wobbled for a moment, and they hummed with charging energy. After a moment, they mounted and sped off, kicking up dirt and blades of grass in their wake.

There was a furious explosion that lit up the night sky, sending up debris several hundred stories into the air, that backlit the calm night sky, and reflected off the cool night air.

The Xavier Institute for Mutants was no more.

* * *

_**6 years later...**_

It had been a slow few days for the Man of Steel. The typical rousing exersise of breaking down a drug bust, and managing to save the random kitten stuck in a tree.

In otherwords, he was bored.

Upon realizing that his day might not get much better, a red blurr flew past him, nearly knocking off his flight balance. Upon righting himself, he thought for a moment it was Flash. But then realized...Flash doesnt fly.  
He lit off after the thing, nearly breaking the sound barrier in his attempt to catch up, when all in an instant, the figure stopped. He was in awe at what he saw.

There was a young woman, perhaps about thirteen or so, perched atop one of the rare X-Men brand hoverboards. She had short cut black hair, and the bluest eyes hed ever seen. Freckles were splashed over a small nose, and a red kimono jacket was tied to her thin adolesent form. Her feet were incased in black mary janes, and were fastened to the board. She was studying him as intently as he was her.

_X-Men..._ his mind wondered _They were taken out by Anti-Mutantists Years ago..._

After licking his lips, he hesitantly called out, "Hello?"

The effect on the japanese girl was instant. She turned, and a small smile passed over her thin face. "Konnichiwa!" She chirped. "Anata watashi Keiki Shinoma. Watashi wa?" Her cheery Japanese bounced off the tall sky scrapers, and reflected back. The Man of Steel thought for a moment, and the relization struck him.

"Do you speak English"  
She nodded, and moved to a sitting postion, balancing herself on the board. "Hai. I apologize." She smiled. "I am not from here"  
He nodded, and extended his hand, to which she carefully shook. Her hands are like ice... he thought. "So...why would a young woman like yourself own a hoverboard...? I thought only the X-Men were issued those...but after the explosion they all----"

_"X-Men ALIVE!"_

The young girls face was now full of rage, and her figure now trembling with anger. "X-Men no die in...in..." her eyes darted left and right, searching for the proper english. _"Explosion!"  
_Before SuperMan could continue, there was a cry from the ground.

"KEIKO! Get your ass down here! What the hell are you doing?!"

Keikos head snapped downward, and focoused in on a young woman standing on the corner of an alley. Apparently she had some kind of parental or guardian control, because Keiko lit off so fast downward to the woman, that Superman did not have time to react.  
He hastially landed and found himself grabbed by the front and jerked downward by a pale fist. The young woman that had a hold of him, though seeming innocent and nice looking from a distance, was quite pissed.

"You saw nothing...got it PJ boy?" She hissed.

Once again, he took a moment to evaluate this new woman. She was roughly 5'5, with blond hair and green eyes, held back in low braids with black rubber bands. She wore a above the knee skirt, tattered leggings, knee high boots, and a white blouse. "You didn't see Keiko, and if you even think you saw me...you're mistaken."

Superman looked over his shoulder and found Keiko climbing into a sewer drain, dragging her board down with her. "You live down there?" He questioned, completely ignoring her threats.  
The woman allowed her gaze to slide towards the opening, and nodded. "Cha. Not like mutants like us can walk around in broad daylight anymore." She stated flatly. "Why?"

He smiled, and pulled her fist away. "You've got nothing to fear up here...why are you hiding underground?" He took a step towards the drain, when he found this strange woman infront of him again.

"Look buddy." She stated. "I know your kind. You think you can fool me with you 'Its safe to come out' now bravado. And then you'll just blow up this house, just like you did the last one!" She exclaimed. Her pale skinned face was beginnign to flush under the excitement.

"Blow up like the last one?"

She punched him in the chest. It didnt hurt, but it was still enough to jarr his attention and memory. "Your from the Xavier Institute?" He questioned.

"I said _shut up_!"

She kicked him in the shin this time, and her face was red. "My family is gone 'cause a' people like you."

The Man of Steel blinked once more, and shook his head. "Look...I dont know who you mean, but I'm one of the good guys. My name is SuperMan...I'm part of the Justice League."

"He is right Juliet-san..."

Keiko was now visible, leaning against the wall, seemingly very tired. "He is good person...not like others..." She then shuffled over to the opening in the ground and climbed down. Juliet merely sighed, and walked towards the man hole cover. Before anything else could be said, there was a wolf whistle from across the stree. There the Flash stood, and then raced across the street.

"Hey Supes! Whos the Babe...?" He winked towards the blonde, who held a horrified expression.

"I knew it! It was a plot to get to the hide out! Keiko! Run!" She turned on her heel and jumped down the manhole cover. She landed with a slight 'squish' and took off running down the pipe.  
SuperMan shot his comrade 'The Look', before taking off after her.

"Wait! Come back!" He called out. "We just want to talk!"

"FUCK YOU!" Came the echoing reply over her rapid footsteps. Juliet was in a panic, and nearly forgot where she had stashed her guitar. She ducked down a small alcove, before grabbing her blessed 6-String. Its black and green design glittered off the dim lighting of the sewers, and she could hear SuperMan comming up close with Flash behind her. She took off running again. She took all of three steps, before slamming full force into The Flash. She gave a grunt, and landed splat on her bottom.

"Hey gorgeous." He teased, before reaching down a hand to help her up. She glared evenly at him, but accepted his hand. She grabbed her guitar by the neck and held it like a weapon. "Hey there kiddo...the boy scout only wants to talk, ok?"

Her blue eyes narrowed, and she snorted in distain. "Just don' make any sudden movements Pretty Boy." She sneered. It was around this time that SuperMan had caught up. It was too dangerous for him to fly in the low ceilinged sewers, so he followed on foot. Upon noting that she was out numbered, and the fact that Keiko had insisted that he was alright, she sighed.

"Fine fine. You can both come and see. Just, any sudden movements and Short Spark fries ya both."

Flash arched a brow, and blinked. "Short Spark? You mean theres more of you?"

As Juliet pulled Keiko to her feet, she nodded. "Yeah. Five of us. We're the only ones left."

She dusted Keiko off, and ran her fingers though the girls short black hair. For a moment, a flash of red was revealed on the girls pale skinned neck. This caught Supermans attention. He stepped foreward, and gently touched the girls shoulder.  
Keiko whirled and nearly punched him in the stomache, had she not restrained herself.

"No touch." She explained. It was all she gave for a reason.

* * *

As they continued down the sewers, Juliet navigated and Keiko rambled on in Japanese, assuming the two heros knew what she was saying. She picked at the fraying hem of her kimino jacket. When they came to a large iron door, Juliet reached out and languidly pushed a large button. With a screech, the door heaved open and several figures could be seen scattering to get away from the light. One of them ran smack into a wall and sunk to the floor.

Juliet sighed, and strode into the room and turned on a large switch, light flooding the room. A girl in a denim skirt and green blouse lay on her side on the floor, obviously disoriented. A long silver, white and red cane lay on the floor beside her. She was blind.

"Its alright girls. Its just me and Keiko. We brougt friends."

Out of the dark corners, crawled two more girls. One of them was roughly five feet and about six inches tall. She wore a white off the shoulder blouse, and a bright multi-colored party skirt. Gold anklets and bracelets graced their respective areas, standing out nicely against dark skin. She had long brown hair that went to about her elbows, held back by a white hair ribbon. She blinked slowly, protectivly pulling Keiko close.  
The other was quite the opposite. Pale ivory skin, and blinding green eyes. Freckles dusted her nose, and jet black hair was held back in two braids, reaching down to at least her waist. She wore a black A-Line skirt, a thread bare white blouse and worn suspenders. The ends of her fingers cracked dangerously at the sight of the strangers.

"Juliet..., _wem die Hölle diese Leute sind_?(1)" Came the string of what sounded like german from her mouth.  
The blind woman slowly came around and SuperMan got a good look at her. She was black haired, freckled, and olive skinned. As she spoke, her tone was vageuly sounding from New Zealand.  
"We got company"  
She nodded, and sighed. "Well...you wanted to meet them. Here they are."

End chapter One.

**Took me long enough...Next chapter should be out soon!**

(1) Juliet...who the Hell are these people?


	2. The Tower

_Injustice For All_

_Chapter 2- To the Institute_

* * *

Juliet only sighed, shaking her head. "Easy Kass. They ain't done anything but spook us so far." She jabbed a thumb towards Keiko, and sighed. "Acid Ice decided to go on a little joy ride and never told anyone."

The the apparent use of the code name to the young girl, she blushed and turned her face into the side of the mexican woman.

Super Man was in awe. All in except for the spanish woman, they were pale as death, with sunken eyes and drawn faces. Their clothing was in disrepair, and the living conditions were less then suitable. Juliet arched her brows, and gestured towards a battered sagging couch. "Sit." she grunted.

Keiko stretched lazily, walking off down a darkened corridor, humming softly to herself, her shoes clapping loudly off the cold metal walls. The other three occupants of the room were watching Super Man and Flash with some defenaite intrerest.

"Raina!" Juliets voice snapped from the kitchen. _"__¡__Consiga adentro aquí y ayúdeme con la cena!_". There was a clattering of a pot and the trickling noise of running water. "Aint gonna cook itself girl!"

As the woman, apparently named Raina, stood up in a huff and left, Flash took the moment to lean over and mumer. "What'dya think SuperMan?"

The man of steel shrugged his broad shoulders, eying the surroundings still. "I dont get it." He sighed. "How do five girls live under ground all this time and noone notices them?"

"I'll tell you how."

Both men turned to see the smallest of the women standing at the far end of the room. The blind woman sat on the floor next to her, her sunglasses reflecting the already dim light. "Ve keep quiet. Tha's how." She explained. "I came to this country...to try and see if the Institute would accept me." She sighs, scuffing her feet on the floor. "They accept. Da...they accept. And then..." she snaps her fingers. "Bang. Humans no like mutants anymore. They exterminate us. Like rats." She waves a threating finger towards the two men, and gives them the best glare someone of her stature can give. "_Herr_ Juliet may trust you. But I don't."

Before either sides of the convorsation could continue, Juliet, flocked by Raina, returned to the room, and Juliet plunked a pot on the table while Raina becan setting out chipped ceramic bowls. "Keiko!" She called. "Dinner! And someone get Natalie off the damn floor!"

Keiko came fairly bouncing from the darkness, singing something in warbling native tounge, and helped the woman to her feet. Natalie as it was, was apparently the tallest out of all of them, at a staggering 5'9. She sighed, shaking her head.

"You know Juliet. I was rather comfortable..." her voice held a bit of over seas accent, regestering faintly as New Zealand. "Everytime I fall on the floor isn't a cause for concern."

If the blond were listening, she gave no response. "Sit. Shuddap. Eat. We got visitors. So be nice." She turned her gaze on the two men, who were looking out of sorts. "You eating?" She held a ladle full of a pale lumpy substance over bowls. "Chicken and dumplings."

Both men politely refused.

As dinner proceded, for the most part, the girls were silent, each rambling on in mixtures of their own tounges, or english. Finally, SuperMan sought to break the silence.

"So do you girls have names?"

Juliet looked up from her bowl, and arched her brows. She reached under the table and removed a small silver flask. She uncorked the top, and took a swig. "Girls." She remakarked, her tone clipped. "I belive the nice intruder asked us a question."

Each of the girls looked rather uncomfortable, but Keiko was the first to jump from her seat. "Antata code name Acid Ice, Keiko Shinama e Shinjuku--" The small German girl pulled her back down into her seat. "We don't need to tell them _everything _Keiko-chan..." she explained. She raised a hand to Juliet, "you do it."

The blond scoffed and took another drink of her flask, and gestured to Keiko yet again. "If ya didn't get it the first time, thats Keiko. Code named Acid Ice. Hails all the way far east from Japan." The girl nodded, and gave a giggle. The mouth of the flask turned to the German woman now.

"Kassien Sache, codenamed Short Spark, Berlin Germany. Came overseas about seven years ago." Juliet sighed, rubbing at her temples, and gestured to the Mexican woman. "This firecrackers named Raina Barrino. Call her Forcefeild. Hails from past the border."

There was a distinct giggle of Kassiens voice of "Well...she _did_ jump ze fence..." and the sound of the womans fist connecting with the girls arm. Juliet gave them both a warning noise, and cleared her throat. "And that quiet one is Natalie Junpei. From New Zealand. Call her Clock Stopper."

The blonde leaned back in her seat, taking a casual swig from her flask. "Thats it."

Flash shook his head, leaning foreward on the table. "You never told us your name." He could've sworn that Juliets lower left eyelid twitched slightly. She clenched her flask yet again, and sighed.

"You can just call me Boomer."

* * *

Dinner past uneventfully, with stiff convorsation and Keiko rambling on about her trip. Every so often, her hair would shift and Super Man would catch a glimpse of what looked like a tattoo on her neck. But the girl never sat still long enough for him to get a good look.

"How did you all survive down here? It must've been hard." Superman reasoned.

Juliet gave a nod, digging into her food. "The language barrier had to go. So we began studying eachothers languages. It was hard at first. Espeically for Keiko and Natalie. Keiko because shes subborn, and Natalie because she doesnt have visual aids."

The Japanese girl stuck out her tounge and giggled before returning to her food.

"And medical knowledge?"

Kassien raised a hand and smirked. "My department, _danka_."

Super Man nodded yet again, and finally popped the question.

"So what happend to force you girls down into hiding?"

Juliet nearly choked on the contents of her flask, clearing her throat several times. All five girls fell silent around the table, casting glances at anything but the two men. Kassien murmered something quiet in her native tounge, but for other wise was silent.

Natalie shifted her weight nervously, and sighed. "We were flushed out." She explained. She cast a sympathetic look around the room, and sighed. She raised a hand up to remove her sunglasses, and revealed cloudy white irises. "Word got out about the technology that the Professor was working on...and the government wasn't pleased." She shrugged her shoulders, and turned her head down. "One night...they stormed the institued and started exterminating us."

The woman was no longer able to continue, and the corner of her right lip twitched ever so slightly. "We...we dont know who survived. We hardly even know who was killed in the attack. It all happened so suddenly..."

Superman nodded, and sighed. "Could you take us to the mansion?"

Each of the women reacted differently. Juliet clenched her jaw, taking another long drink from her flask. Keiko gave a small exhalation, her lips taking on the barest tinge of blue as the temperature in the room lowered just slightly. Kassiens fingers clenched, the electrical lights in the room flickering. Raina pressed her palms into the table, small divits being dug into the wood under her fingers, the plates beginning to rattle and lift from the table. Natalie gave an uncomfortable shudder, and abruptly, the plates halted their movenent, frozen in mid air.

The leader, seemed to take on a small air of vivacity, and corked her flask. "Fine then."

* * *

When Superman and Flash reached 'the Surface World' as Natalie referred it to, it was night, and Superman was rather suprised to see that they were well adapted. Each girl had a board to themselves, and were prepping them rather easily. Each was slender, and about five foot long, with a long panel on the back to start.

"Alright girls. Lets get going." Juliet grumbled.

All five girls gave no protest, each board quietly whirring to life, and lifting quietly each occupant to the sky. Keiko beckoned Flash foreward and instruted he hold onto her waist. "Not wanting to be falling off!" She smiled. Her red hair bow obstructed her vision slightly, titling off to the side as her face split into a small grin.

Flash nodded dumbly as they headed off in the direction of the mansion.

* * *

As they were in the air, the true playful nature of the girls came out. Juliet had strapped her six string to her back, and music was playing from her battered walkman, carring on though out the sky. Keiko had long since seated herself and was steering though leaning. Natalie, Kassien and Raina were weaving out of one another, each carrying on convorsations in their native tounges.

Super Man glanced to his side to Juliet, who was humming along to her music. '_She seems very at ease up here'._ He thought. '_Probably because she knows noone can see her above the clouds.'_

It was true. The blonde woman was swaying herself back and forth slightly on her board, stretching her hands up into the air, cracking her neck.

All merryment was abruptly halted as Juliet cut her music short. "We're here." The other girls abruptly shushed, as they landed.

"We're walking from here..." the blond explained.

They approached the wraught iron gates, and Kassien pressed her palms against the metal to open them. There were broken marble atatues, cracked walk ways and in the middle of it all, was the half destroyed Institute.

Keiko whimpered and clutched Juliets arm. The leggy blond wrapped a comforting around the girl, expelling her thoughts into one word.

"Fuck."

They walked to the Institute, stepping over broken marble and shattered concreet. Walking to the building it looked stable, as if in a trance, Rain atrailed her hand down the sturdy banister of the main stair case. Kassien wandered into the den, surprised to see that everything was nearly intact...save for severe fire damage.

Natale on the other hand, observed everything a bit differently. She tapped and touched everything, trailing her palms over anything she could touch. It was as if Multiple had left his toys on the floor again...She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly as memories came bubbling to the surface...and she forced them back down. If Boomer could handle it, so could she.

SuperMan placed a hand on Juliets shoulder. "I think its time Flash and myself introduced you all to the Justice League."

The blond looked as if she'd been slapped in the face, and she sent Keiko on her way. "What kind of fool do you take me for?" She shook a dirty finger in his face. "You don't take me anywhere..." She jabbed at his chest and narrowed her gaze. "What would taking us to see the Justice League have to do with us?"

Flash held up his hands in defense. "No way...nothing bad...we just thought you might want to meet them...they're not bad."

The blonde looked him over, considering his words for a moment, and finally sighed. The leader of this rag tag group was finally tired...

"Take us to them."

* * *

The girls were rounded up, all except for Keiko.

"Where's Keiko?" SuperMan questioned.

Juliet sighed, "Next to the sewers, this was Keios only home. When I was 15, Keiko ws 5, when she left this place...it was in flames. Natalie and Kassiener were thirteen...Raina was my age. When it was destroyed, we had no choise but to run away. We had no knowlege of where the remaining knowlege of where the rest of the X-Men are...if any are left alive."

"Thats horrible."

There was a high pitched scream from the back of the Institue and Flash lit off before the order could be given.

"Over here!"

Keiko stood, her face portraying her horror. Flash came up behind her, and stared blankly. The others were quick to join.

"Good Lord..." SuperMan whispered.

Professor Xaviers burned and dismanted wheelchair lay on its side in his former office. The room was in shambles, burned books and wrecked equipment were littered around the room. Keiko leant down and carefully picked up a picture, carefully tucking it into the inside of her kimono jacket.

"Before the house go 'boom'...we were family...then came the fire...Juliet-san take hand...and we run..." the Japanese girl whispered. She walked to the remains of the only standing window, and trailed her hands across the glass.

"_Kisama! Iie!"_

A thick, viscouse substance oozed from her hands, eating away at the hard surface. She wiped it away with a swipe of her icey fingertips, and clenched her hands into fists. "Must...control..." Drops of acid began seeping through her fists, hissing noises rising up as it ate through the carpet. Finally, the flow of acid halted, and she relaxed.

"...Can we...leave?" She questioned. When Juliet nodded, the girl bolted from the room.

"What brought that on?" Flash questioned.

Juliet ran her fingertips through her hair and closed her eyes. "This was where Keiko spent most of her time. She learned english from myself and the Professor, and didn't know much else from what we taught her." The team leader picked up a book, and flipped through it idly. "She learned everything from Professor X...he was very understanding..."

She set the book back down on the floor and closed her eyes.

* * *

When they reached the outside, Keiko was perched on the remains of a fountain. She had wrapped the long sleeves of her kimono around her. "Cold." Her blue eyes were drooping with exaustion. She climbed down from the fountain, and climbed into Juliets arms. Resting her head on her shoulder, her eyes drooped and Juliet tightened her arms. "Lets go. I want to meet these 'friends' of yours."

The girls mounted their boards, and Superman held out his amrs to Juliet. "Let me take her. I've got better flight balance."

The blond mutant glared at him for a moment, and opened her mouth to throw and insult, when Keiko shifted in her arms. With a resigned sigh, she passed her fellow mutant off to him, and mounted her board.

* * *

"Are you sure they're not going to hate us?"

Superman sighed, shaking her head. "No, Raina...for the last time...their fine. We're just like you. I've let them know about your requests, and they have no problems with it."

"_Somos atornillada..." _Raina murmered.

"Raina!" Natalie snapped.

"Ve are not screwed!"

The spanish mutant snickered at Kassien. "Says you chika."

And infront of them all, loomed the rondevous point...

TBC...

_Kisama- Bastard_

_Iie- No_

_Somos atornillada- We're Screwed_

_¡Consiga adentro aquí y ayúdeme con la cena!- Get in the kitchen, dinner wont cook itself!_

_(Thank you Babel Fish!)_


	3. Shocking?

Injustice for All

Chapter 3

(Though I breifly danced around the idea of naming this chapter OC'S AHOY!....I'm going to hell for this, I swear....)

* * *

As the rondevous point loomed in the distance, Juliet felt a cold ball of ice begin to form in her gut. Bred instinct told her to grab the girls and run, to flee down into the cool, comforting darkness of the sewers, away from these strange people they hardly knew. She swallowed her worry with a shake of her head, and she fumbled for her hip flask, swallowing a mouthfull of bitter memories washed down with liquor.

As the group decended, a group of six could be seen, and once again, as soon as Juliets boots touched cold concrete, she fought her muscles instincts to bolt into the shadows, her fly or fight instinct driving her mad.

Green Lantern eyed the tiny mutant cradled in Supermans arms, and arched a brow. "Made a stop at the orphanage I see."

Keiko curled up tighter against the chill breeze, and her head sank farther into Supermans arm, oblivious to who was carrying her. She murmered something quietly in her native tounge, as her eyes flitted around beneath closed lashes.

"These are the remnants of the X-Men, as I told you before. Lets go before the media wave hits."

Batman arched a brow when Juliet stalked past. Her swagger was obviously faked, she was feigning toughness...when she was obviously terrified. Her hands were white, the nails digging into her clenched palms as she dissapeared into the ship. Natalie felt someone take her hand and her eyes rolled around in her head for a moment. A breif flash exploded to her subconsious, and she could breifly pinpoint that a someone was leading her up the ramp.

When Kassies passed by Green Landers, he turned and nudged Flash. "Little lady...how old is she....Five? Maybe six or seven?" He stared up the ramp, stroking at his beard.

There was a distinct crunh as Kassien drove her heel into the military mans boot. "I'm 15!" She shouted angrily.

As the short mutant stomped onto the plane, it reminded her of the old High School bus trips she took during her short stay in the Institute. Juliet idly plucking her guitar, Keiko asleep, Rainia and Natalie both speaking in Spanish quietly to eachother, laughing at their own jokes.

The members of the Justice Leage boarded the plane, and watched the spectacle in some form of shocked could jump from burning buildings, fight Gods and the worst kind of evils the universe can throw at them...but apparently given a handful of teenagers, they had no idea what to do with. A group of _mutant_ teenagers.

"How are we going to contain them? Its apparent they've got alot of energy to burn off..." Wonder Woman questioned.

All of a sudden...something scary happened. It was enough to chill Diana to the core. One side of Batmans mouth twitched...in a smile?

"Let them talk to someone on their own level."

He opened his communicator.

* * *

"Hey Gear! On your left!"

The blond Bang Baby twisted away from a hunk of molten metal, just in time to pat out the residual embers burning on his suit.

Hot Streak was pissed off and powered up again, and it was up to Static and Gear to take him down. But this time, it was apparent they had back up. From the shadows, an average heighted woman stepped out from beside an alley. Her hair was pulled back from her face, but wore simple jeans and a blouse, a black sash tied around the lower half of her face, and around her there was a faint electrical crackle.

"Moonshine! You're up!"

She nodded, quickly scaling the dumpster and snatching onto a fire escape. Her clenched fists glowed with a brightening light, and with a grunt, she discharged it towards Hot Streak, sending the Bang Baby bouncing backwards against a police van, and flopping onto the pavement. He was subdued, only breifly. It allowed the fire crews to come in and douse him with fire extinguishers and drag the out of control teen into the van.

As Moonshine jumped down from her perch, she stumbled and clutched the wall, she was weakened, and shot a pained glance towards Gear, who grabbed the womans arm.

Then came the media...always the damn media. They shoved their microphones in the Bang Babies faces, prodding them with various questions about their latest battle, personal questions about their lives, and various other dribble that they could barely stomache. In the midst of it all, Static heard the quiet beeping of his communicator, and he lifted it to his mouth.

"Static here."

"You and Gear be reading. We're on our way. And I have some friends that I want you to meet."

"We've got a problem here too. Got room for three?"

"...Just be ready."

There was a dull roar that increased in pitch as the Javlyn grew closer, and finally landed. The reporters scattered like roaches, only to regroup as they realized it was the Justice League.

Static looked over his shoulder to Gear and Moonshine, and grinned widely. "Lets get out of here."

As the trio boarded the ship, Juliet eyed the group. She became wary again, and her fingernails dug unnessicarily into her guitar strings. The pick she held between her teeth nearly snapped under the pressure of her clenched jaw, but she paid it no heed.

"Nice mask." She remarked to Moonshine.

The other woman paid her no mind, as she was led to a seat, and Gear stripped her bandanna mask off. Her face was coated in sweat, and her hair was plastered down to her forehead. Her head lolled to the side, and her eyes closed as she finally dozed off to sleep.

There was a small noise by his elbow, and Gear turned to see Kassien standing by him. Her eyes were focused on Moonshine. "Vill she be alright?"

Not quite knowing who this girl was, Gear put on his best 'hero grin' and tousled her hair.

"She'll be fine. She just needs some rest."

Kassien nodded, and crossed the isle again to crawl into Rainas lap, where she promptly fell asleep.

As Static passed by a sleeping Keiko, he eyed the other girls aboard the ship. He'd defenaitly never come across anything like this before. "Who _are_ they?"

SuperMan heaved a weary sigh. "They are the last of the X-Men...at least to our knowledge." He adjusted how Keiko was positioned in her seat, and her head shifted, revealing a strange tattoo on the back of her neck. Upon furthur inspection, it appeared to look something akin to a face, red and black in color.

He could feel someone starting at him, and he turned to see Juliet staring at him. She nodded to the smaller girl, sighing.

"We dont know how or when she got the tattoo. What we do know is that its rare she ever shows it off."

The blonde uncapped her flask yet again, as the low rumble of the engines signified their take off.

* * *

_Chaos...destruction...the smell of sulfur in the air as the sky burned red with the burning bodies of her enimies and family alike._

_Towers of once brilliant crystal now engulfed in consuming flames danced all around her. Her reflection was shown a thousand times over, her expression the same that she always remembered._

_Chaos...upheaval...revalation...and destruction._

_A searing heat build up in her belly and she struggled to contain her cries as tears built up behind her tightly closed lids...untill that heat burst free, consuming her small body in the same flames that burned her home..._

* * *

Keikos eyes shot open, and she screamed. Long, loud wails in her native tounge, and she was barely aware of the light clicking on and someone...some thing took her by the shoulders and gently shook her.

"Relax child...it was nothing more then a nightmare...."

Her eyes rolled open to see two amber eyes looking back down. "Who...who is you?" She fought the instant urge to scream and run away, and something subdued that urge...

The humanoid-man smiled slightly, the edges of his eyes crinkling up. "My name is J'onn. I am a friend of your group." He sat her upright on the small futon she'd been napping on. "You have been asleep for several hours...would you like to see the others?"

When Keiko nodded, J'onn took her by the hand, and led her to the main confrence room.

* * *

Rainia splayed her palms flat on the table, her eyes wide and glittering with laughter. "So there I'm standing...and heres NightCrawler COVERED in maple syrup! I open my mouth to say something when he says--"

"I gist got in a sticky situation!!" Kassien blurted.

The table burst into laughter, sans Batman, who merely quirked a brow at the situation. The girls seemed to be loosenening their belts in the relaxed situation, but Juliet remained alert, her hands clutching at her flask, occasionally stealing a sip or two, her eyes darting around the large room.

When J'onn walked in with Keiko in tow, SuperMan turned around in his chair.

"Well look who's awake!"

Keiko smiled, and blushed as she was led to a seat, and she nibbled on an index fingernail. "Had a bad dream." she explained, and rubbed at the back of her neck.

Natalie gently reached out to ruffle the girls hair, and smiled. "We were just talking about the old days sweetheart...nothing to worry about."

Keiko nodded, as if understanding the entirety of the sentence, as she crossed her legs, looking around the large table the various members of their group were seated around. Raina on the other hand, had finally busied herself with sewing a hole in the elbow of Kassiens blouse.

"You can never keep this shirt in one piece can you Kass?"

The german gave her an ear to ear grin and shook her head. "As if jou' vould expext any'zing less?"

Green Lantern on the other hand, had spent most of this time observing each girl. Time had not been kind to them. Their skin was paler then normal for the most, hands cold. Save for the very basics, they were scarily thin, and the League was forced to tone down the bright halogen lights for their sensitive eyes. Their clothes were patched and bare in spots, but as Juliet always repeated...they were all they had.

"So Keiko..." he began carefully, "Everyone else has told us how they got to the Institute....how about yourself?"

Keiko fell eerily silent, and rubbed the back of her neck again. "Moved from Japan....Japan to Arizona...Arizona to Institute.." Her langauge was broken and the words clacked against her teeth and tounge as she struggled with the speech.

GLs eyes narrowed, "What about the tattoo on you're neck? You dont seem like the type..."

"Not want to talk about it."

She rubbed at her neck again, chewing on her lower lip, turning the skin a brighter shade of red.

Superman, sensing thatthe convorsation was dying, changed it briskly. "So what was it like with so many dialects living together?"

All of the girls, Keiko included began to laugh.

"It was confusing at first. Natalise speaks english, but her New Zeland slang messes with it, Keiko spoke nothing but Japanese at first, Raina speaks Spanish, and Kassien speaks German and English fluently." Juliet explained, idly twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "I'm still trying to learn them all!"

Raina smiled, and nodded. "Have you ever tried to shop at a Japanese market, with a shopping list written in German?" To emphasise her point, she pantomimed holding a pair of chopsticks.

Natalie only smiled, leaning back in her chair. "Those were the days...."

Keiko lay her head on her folded arms across the tabletop, her eyes wide and questioning. "Juliet-san...who are others?" She gestured to the members around the table, and began picking at the slipping hem of her shirt.

Static smiled, and held out his hand. "Names Static, thats Gear and Moonshine."

Juliet barely repressed a snort.

Other names were passed around, and Keikos smile grew larger with each passing name. On the other hand, Juliets eyes narrowed down to slits when Batman got up and left the table, his cape sweeping widely as he strode out of the room and down a hall. "What the hell is his deal anyway?"

Wonder Woman waved a hand dismissivly. "He's just anti-social. Dont mind him."

Flash nodded, his typical thousand watt grin lighting up his face. "He's got a stick up his rear end....horizontally in position."

There was a moment of silence, before Juliets face finally broke into laughter. "You know...Cyclops always used to say were were different. "She sighed. All of the girls fell silent f or a moment, reflecting on memories of the past.

Keiko gave a small, resigned little sigh, almost like a balloon deflating from a pin hole. "Storms cooking...Beast comming to room when nightmares come...."

Diana placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "Dont worry...we'll find them."

Green Lanters face creased into a frown. "I need to talk you you Princess. Now" He rose to his feet and stalked out of the room, Wonder Woman in tow.

Once in the hall, the Amazonian shot him a glare that could've melted metal. "What's wrong with you?" She asked sharply.

The Military Man jutted a finger in her direction. "You. You go and build up the hopes and dreams of some 10 year old kid...and what? Say we can't find the X-Men? Say they really _are _all dead? What do well say to a bunch of teenagers who barely speak a word of english!?"

The warrior princess stared him down for a moment, and then softened her harsh glare. "Understandable....its just sad...to see them like this. They've been waiting and searching for years...and they've got nothing." She turned, and left him standing in the hall and returned to the main room.

* * *

"You're going down Shocky."

"Not on your life babe!"

Raina and Static were engaged in an arm wrestling contest...and the Bang Baby was loosing. Juliet, Natalie, Keiko and Kassien were in hysterics, shreiking with laughter, while Gear and Moonshine moaned in the near defeat at hand.

The other members of the League merely sat...and watched the show.

Rainas dark brown eyes glinted as she pressed harder onto Statics equally forcefull fist.

"You're not going to beat me!" She laughed.

He only smiled and pressed harder, his dreads hanging into his eyes over his mask. "Lets put that to the test shall we?!"

There was a BOOM as Raina slammed the back of his hand to the table, nearly cracking the surface. She smiled sweetly, and blew him a kiss. "Told ya."

After the hysterics died down, and Static nursed his pride and bruised hand, convorsation resumed once more.

"What kind of family did you have in Arizona, Keiko?" Hawk Girl questioned. As the girl slowly processed the question, her already pale face drained of any other color. Her head turned to Juliet, who gave a sharp shake of her head No. Keiko quickly regained her composure.

"God Parents." She answered quickly.

SuperMan nodded, and flattened his palms on the table. "Then tomorrow...we'll have to go and tell them that their God Daughter is alright. Maybe they'll have some answeres for us." He nodded to those around the table. "Get some rest everyone, we've got a big day tomorrow."

TBC....


End file.
